No one has been tougher on Britain’s banks, or more cautious about the direction of the economy, than Sir Mervyn King.

So amid all the gloom about the impact of the wintry weather on national output, a triple dip and the potential loss of the UK’s much treasured ‘AAA’ credit rating, the governor of the Bank of England has ushered in 2013 in cheerier mood.

Despite all the factors working against an improvement in Britain’s prospects, most notably the lingering eurozone crisis, King ventures to say a ‘gentle recovery’ is on its way. He bases his optimism on a number of indicators.

Optimistic: Sir Mervyn King has ushered in 2013 in cheerier mood

He notes the money supply – the amount of cash sloshing around the economy – is picking up momentum and climbing at 4.5 per cent a year.

Credit conditions are improving and Funding for Lending is making an impact, even if does not yet appear to be getting through to smaller businesses.

Mortgage rates have come down and anecdotal experience suggests that even in hard-pressed regions there is a bit of an uptick in the housing market. Finally, share prices have climbed at least 10pc this year, reflecting the strong financial position of many companies as well as a belief that holding shares as a safe future investment may be preferable to low yielding bonds.

King’s new-found optimism, as his ten-year rule on Threadneedle Street comes to a close, even extends to the state-controlled banks. He argues that with proper care there is no reason to think Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland could not be returned to the land of the living and the quoted markets.

Certainly the evidence from the US is even the most damaged financial groups – including credit insurer AIG, Citibank and Bank of America Merrill Lynch – have demonstrated a capacity for life after death.

None of this is to suggest that King has been taking happy pills. As befitting a central bank governor, he has not entirely given up on the gloom.

He notes there is a long way to travel for the average Briton, with take home pay no higher now than in 2004, and consumer spending 4 per cent below his peak.

His biggest concern remains the eurozone.

The short-term palliatives taken by the European Central Bank have not resolved the fundamental problem. Countries in the single currency area need to rebalance so that consumers in the prosperous north – including Germany – spend, eliminating the enormous trade imbalances with deficit partners.

King diplomatically notes that the health of UK bank balance sheets look a whole lot better than Continental counterparts.

The governor is too shrewd a cookie to repeat the mistakes of Lord Lamont and Baroness Vadera who were ridiculed for use of the ‘green-shoots’ of recovery metaphor.

The governor’s visit to the sunny uplands of Belfast might of itself help to improve confidence.

Tasty morsel

The choice of one of Britain’s highest profile retailers, Sir Stuart Rose, as the next chairman of Ocado will be a strong boost to the online grocer.

Rose may have been slow to embrace the digital revolution at Marks & Spencer but he knows as much about food retailing as anyone. His first stint at M&S was spent patrolling the company’s food halls.

The big question about Ocado, since it secured its finances with an equity raising in recent months, is whether it can remain a standalone grocer? Or will it be gobbled up by a competitor?

Ocado’s model of big warehouses and robotic sorting of goods for delivery clearly is revolutionary.

It challenges what other big supermarkets – including J Sainsbury and Tesco, with manual sorting at stores or darkened stores – are doing.

But having moved through some teething troubles, including capacity bottlenecks, Ocado would be a handsome morsel to swallow. Wm Morrison, which has fallen far behind on the internet, is a possibility.

And John Lewis-Waitrose, which has a food supply deal, cannot be ruled out.

But what about Rose’s old outfit M&S? It needs a lift and it would be surprising if the company’s online guru, Laura Wade-Gery, had not taken a look.

Toxic tax

The eurozone’s banking system is rocking and the single currency is being held together with rubber bands.

And the response of the great minds in Brussels?

It is to impose a financial transaction tax that would remove €35bn from the system.

Nothing is clear about the measure, including the impact on banks such as Barclays with big operations in Spain, or how French and German banks in London would be treated.

What is obvious is that this ill-conceived, politically-driven idea is another nail in the credibility of the single currency area.